9 of the Queerest Moments at Last Night's Golden Globes

By Seamus Kirst

January 08, 2018

"The power of honesty despite grave risk became a running theme of the night."

Last night’s 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards were the first to happen since the #MeToo movement against sexual assault and harassment has become a focus of national conversation. Amid this vital focus on abuse were a number of queer figures and moments that also spoke to the occasion, where the power of honesty despite grave risk became a running theme of the night.

As Oprah declared in her rousing speech, “Speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we have.” Here are a number of people, movies, shows, and moments that testify to that power:

1. Lena Waithe's Tux

Photo by Neilson Barnard/NBCUniversal

In an interview with InStyle, Lena Waithe — the queer actress, producer and screenwriter, who made history last year when she became the first African-American woman to win an Emmy award for comedy writing — discussed why she chose to wear black to last night’s Golden Globes, which was the first she’s attended, as part of a movement for actors to wear black as a show of solidarity against abuse in Hollywood.

“Look, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and someone might say, ‘Wouldn’t you want to stand out?’ But I’m like, ‘Nah! I want to stand with Time's Up,'" said Waithe, whose show Master of None was nominated for Best Musical or Comedy Series. "It may be a small way of showing solidarity, but to me this is extremely important. If someone looks back and wants to know where I stood, they'll see that picture of me on the red carpet wearing nothing but black.”

Even within the sea of black outfits, Waithe, as always, was still ever the individual, standing out in her all black tux.

2. Queer Stars Supporting the Time's Up Movement

Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Hulu

Waithe was not the only queer actor or actress who wore black to show their solidarity with the Time’s Up movement. Openly gay actor and singer, Ricky Martin — who will be playing the queer role of Antonio D’Amico, Versace’s boyfriend of 15 years on the forthcoming series The Assassination of Gianni Versace — also wore an all-black tuxedo as he appeared on the red carpet with his fiancé, Jwan Yosef.

Sarah Paulson, who starred in The Post wore all black as she presented an award, and The Handmaid’s Tale star Samira Wiley also announced her solidarity through her black outfit.

3. Battle of the Sexes + Emma Stone and Billie Jean King Attending as Dates

Photo by George Pimentel/WireImage

Battle of the Sexes, which tells the story of the founding of the Women’s Tennis Association and professional women tennis players demanding fairer pay through the 1973 tennis match between ex-champ Bobby Riggs and the World’s number one female player, Billie Jean King — who went on to become an LGBTQ+ activist and advocate. The film was up for two awards: Emma Stone for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for her portrayal of Billie Jean King, and Steve Carell for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for his portrayal of Bobby Riggs.

Neither Stone nor Carell won, but it was still important to tell and celebrate King’s story of pushing for gender equity in tennis, and accepting her sexuality.

And of course another memorable queer moment of the night was Emma Stone bringing Billie Jean King, herself, as her date to the event. Stone and King were both dressed in all black.

4. Ricky Martin Presents an Award with Fellow Actors from The Assassination of Gianni Versace Cast​

Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Ricky Martin, Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez, and Darren Criss, presented the Golden Globe for​ ​Best Actor in a ​Limited Series or TV Movie to Ewan McGregor for his role on Fargo.

Martin, Cruz, Ramirez and Criss are all starring in The Assassination of Gianni Versace​, which is the second season of queer screenwriter, director and producer Ryan Murphy's​ American Crime Story​.​ This season tells the story of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace's murder in 1997. Martin will be playing Versace's boyfriend, and the season will have many queer characters and storylines, with the exploration of gay shame in the 90s reportedly being a major theme.

5. A Fantastic Woman Nominated for Best Foreign Film

Photo by Sony Pictures Classics

Still from A Fantastic Woman

Nominated for best foreign film, Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman tells the story of a transgender singer who faces abuse and discrimination after her boyfriend passes away, underlining how trans women are even more disproportionately impacted by the issues of systemic abuse, harassment and violence that were being discussed throughout the evening.

The Chilean film, which stars Daniela Vega, did not win the award, but has received rave critical reviews.

6. Gay Composer Benj Pasek Wins for Best Original Song

Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Gay composer Benj Pasek and his straight best friend and co-songwriter, Justin Paul, won the Globe for Best Original Song for "This is Me" from The Greatest Showman.

Pasek and Paul — who wrote the music for the Broadway hit Dear Evan Hansen — also won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song last year, as well, for "City of Stars" from La La Land.

7. Call Me By Your Name Doesn’t Win Any of its Three Golden Globe Nominations

Photo by Sony Pictures Classics

Call Me By Your Name, which tells the story of a 17-year-old boy and a 24-year-old man falling in love and becoming sexually involved with each other, was nominated for three awards including Best Picture — Drama, Timothée Chalamet for Best Actor, and Armie Hammer for Best Supporting Actor, but it did not win any of the three.

The film, which is directed by queer director Luca Guadagnino, has received rave critical reviews, but has faced pushback for Guadagnino’s decisions to cast straight actors in the queer lead roles, and to cut out explicit gay sex scenes that were included in the original screenplay and the book.

8. Billy Eichner’s Kevin Spacey Joke

Photo by Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Openly gay comedian and actor Billy Eichner has been using jokes on his show Difficult People for years to try to call out Kevin Spacey as a predator. He was also highly critical of Spacey’s decision to come out as queer amidst his allegations of sexual abuse.

Last night, he got the chance to call out Spacey on live TV during the Golden Globes.

Seth Meyers, who hosted the ceremony, used a bit called "Jokes Seth Can’t Tell" from his show Late Night with Seth Meyers. He set up jokes and called on actors in the audience who aren't straight, white men — including Amy Poehler, Issa Rae, and Billy Eichner — who delivered the punchlines.

Meyers brought up Call Me By Your Name, and described it as a "gay coming of age film."

Eichner responded, “Said Kevin Spacey, ‘You had me until of age.'”

9. Bert and Ernie Queer Joke

Photo by Peter Bischoff/Getty Images

In his opening monologue, Meyers also quipped, “Sesame Street recently released a parody of Stranger Things titled Sharing Things. Meanwhile, Bert and Ernie have been doing a parody of Call Me By Your Name for years.”

Meyers is likely referring to the 2013 cover of The New Yorker in response to SCOTUS’ decision to legalize gay marriage in all 50 states. On the cover, Bert and Ernie are cuddling, suggesting they are in fact a gay couple.

Sesame Street has never confirmed their romantic relationship, but we at them. are here for it!